Euro Drops to Lowest Since 2000 Versus Yen on Crisis Concerns

The euro slid to the lowest level since 2000 versus the yen on concern the region’s a crisis is far from being resolved even after officials agreed on an aid package for Spain’s banks.

The shared currency reached a two-year low versus the dollar after Reuters reported that the Valencia region in Spain will seek the nation’s help to repay debt, citing a statement. Euro-area finance ministers gave full approval today to the bank-aid package of as much as 100 billion euros ($122 billion).

“Spain’s Valencia region requesting help triggered a little bit of selling, which broke the previous lows and triggered some stop-loss orders below it,” Carl Forcheski, a director on the corporate currency sales desk at Societe Generale SA in New York, said in a telephone interview. A stop-loss is an automatic trading order that limits losses.

The euro dropped as much as 1.1 percent to 95.42 yen, the lowest level since November 2000, before trading at 95.51 yen at 10:01 a.m. New York time. The shared currency fell as much as 1.1 percent to $1.2144, the weakest since June 2010, before trading at $1.2160. Japan’s currency was little changed at 78.55 to the greenback.

The 17-nation currency depreciated to the lowest in more than three years versus the pound before data next week that economists said will show a gauge of consumer confidence was close to a three-year low and manufacturing shrank for a 12th month in the bloc.